The MCU Already Has A Non-Skrull Shapeshifter Hiding In Plain Sight

Ahead of the return of the Skrulls in Phase 4’s Secret Invasion, Phase 3’s Spider-Man: Far From Home already introduced one shapeshifting character who could be impersonating anyone. In Marvel Comics, the Skrulls are an entire species of aliens whose shapeshifting subspecies became a force to be reckoned with across the universe. They have been subjugated by the Kree Empire, but they have also attacked Earth multiple times in their quest for power. The MCU has depicted them as a more benevolent race since their introduction in Captain Marvel, where they only want to defend themselves from the Kree.

Now that Phase 4 includes an upcoming Secret Invasion series, one may wonder why the Skrulls would want to infiltrate Earth. But if Talos’ impersonation of Nick Fury and Soren’s impersonation of Maria Hill in Spider-Man: Far From Home is anything to go by, it’s possible that many Skrulls have already infiltrated human society since at least the 1990s. What motivation may lead them to the events of Secret Invasion is still a mystery, but Spider-Man: Far From Home secretly introduced one shapeshifter who is certainly more villainous than any Skrull.

In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Dimitri Smerdyakov assisted Talos while the latter posed as Nick Fury. Smerdyakov drove Peter Parker to Prague so he could receive his stealth suit and fight the Elemental “Molten Man.” In the comics, Dimitri Smerdyakov is none other than “the Chameleon”, the first villain Spider-Man ever fought. Half-brother to Sergei Kravinoff a.k.a. Kraven the Hunter, the Chameleon grew up trying to impress him, and used his impersonation skills to forge a criminal career, fighting Spider-Man multiple times and even joining the Sinister Six at some point.

Dimitri Smerdyakov never showed any sign of being evil in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home mean that he won’t be able to use his knowledge of Spider-Man’s secret identity against him if he was. However, the Chameleon could eventually become a threat to Spidey. After all, the technology to make his impersonations believable already exists in the MCU: the Photostatic Veil. Used by Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Sharon Carter in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the veil allows its user to mimic the voice and appearance of any other person. If the Chameleon still has access to SHIELD’s resources, he could get his hands on one or more of these masks. And since everyone expects all MCU impostors to be Skrulls, bringing the Chameleon back as a shapeshifter while the Skrulls are invading Earth would be an effective twist.

Curiously enough, when Peter Parker used Iron Man’s E.D.I.T.H. glasses to look into Dimitri Smerdyakov’s personal background in Spider-Man: Far From Home, no info was available. This would have been logical if he was employed by the real Nick Fury, but given that he was actually hired by Skrulls, there’s a possibility that the MCU’s version of the Chameleon is also a Skrull in disguise, which would mean that he could take part in the events of Secret Invasion. Considering that the Chameleon’s half-brother Kraven the Hunter will have his own movie set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, there’s a number of ways his story could change in the MCU. Whatever the case, the Chameleon is an asset the MCU shouldn’t waste.

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